At a press conference on Monday, SpaceIL Chairman Yanki Margalit, said: “We’ve seen how space exploration has propelled whole economies and countries to reach new, stronger levels of innovation.

“Israel is ripe for a revolution like that, and SpaceIL is going to make it happen.”

The inspiration behind SpaceIL's orbital dreams came from Google contest, LunarX, which, in a bid to jump-start private lunar exploration, promised an award of $30 million to any team that could land an unmanned, robotic craft on the moon.

However, according to Margalit, the project has now moved beyond the parameters of the contest: “It’s become a national mission that will inspire a generation of kids to embrace science and technology.”

With Iran and Israel ready to go head to head, it looks like the world could have a new space race on its hands.

Who will be first to achieve their orbital ambitions? Share your comments with us below!